After the Storm Passes: What to Do When You Find a Lost Pet or Stranded Animal in Jupiter

The storm has passed. Your family is fine, the house held up, and you're stepping outside to see what's left — downed ficus, a yard full of debris, and maybe, tucked under the porch or huddled against a fence line, an animal that isn't yours.

We've lived through enough hurricane seasons here to know this scene well. In the days after a major storm, animal control calls spike across Palm Beach County. Displaced pets wander miles from home. Gopher tortoises get flooded out of their burrows. Raccoons and opossums show up in places they'd never normally be. Knowing what to do in those first few minutes matters — for the animal, and for you.

First Rule: Don't Assume, and Don't Rush In

A stressed animal is an unpredictable animal, even a friendly one. Dogs and cats that have been through a hurricane are often dehydrated, injured, and terrified. A normally sweet dog can bite when it's that scared. Wildlife adds another layer — raccoons, bats, and foxes can carry rabies, and you should never handle one with bare hands.

So before anything else, take a breath and observe from a distance:

• Is the animal injured or just displaced?
• Does it have a collar, tag, or carrier?
• Is it acting aggressively, lethargic, or trapped?
• Are babies nearby? A mother may be close and returning for them.

What to Do With a Lost Dog or Cat

Contain, don't chase. If the animal will come to you, lure it into a garage, fenced yard, or crate with food and water. Chasing a panicked dog down A1A or through a neighborhood is a good way to get it hit by a car. If it won't come, note the location and description instead.

Check for ID. A tag with a phone number is the fastest reunion in history. No tag? Most vet clinics — including ours — will scan for a microchip free of charge. It takes thirty seconds.

Spread the word locally. Post to Jupiter-area Facebook groups, Nextdoor, and neighborhood apps. Put up flyers near where you found the animal. Most lost pets are found within a mile or two of home, and post-storm, owners are looking everywhere.

Call Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control at (561) 233-1200 to report the found animal and check for a matching lost-pet report. Florida law technically requires you to report a found animal — keeping it without doing so isn't a favor to anyone.

The 'Just Feed It and Leave It' Trap

Here's where we'll be blunt, because it matters: leaving food out and walking away often makes things worse.

Feeding keeps a lost pet alive, sure — but it also keeps it in place, wandering a dangerous area of downed lines, debris, and traffic, when a phone call could have reunited it with its family within a day. A fed stray is a comfortable stray, and comfortable strays stop approaching people.

With wildlife, feeding is even worse. It habituates animals to humans, draws raccoons and coyotes into neighborhoods, and can leave orphaned babies dependent on handouts instead of being routed to a licensed rehabilitator who can actually raise them for release.

Feeding without helping feels kind. Real kindness is a phone call.

Injured Wildlife: Who Actually Helps

Do not try to treat or transport wildlife yourself. Instead:

• Busch Wildlife Sanctuary in Jupiter is our hometown resource for injured native wildlife. Call before you transport — they'll guide you on safe handling and what they can accept.
• Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) handles state-protected species and can direct you to licensed rehabilitators.
• For an animal threatening public safety, Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control is the right call.

If you must move an injured animal (say, off a road), use a towel or box, wear thick gloves, keep it in a dark, quiet, ventilated container, and get it to a rehabilitator promptly. Never give food or water — an animal in shock can aspirate.

A Note on the Babies

Fledgling birds hopping on the ground, a lone baby squirrel, a litter of kittens under the porch — the instinct is to scoop and rescue. But many 'orphaned' animals are not orphaned. Mothers routinely leave babies while foraging, and storms can separate them temporarily. When in doubt, call a rehabilitator before intervening. A watchful hour from a distance often resolves the question better than a kidnapping.

Build Your Post-Storm Animal Kit Before the Storm

Add these to your hurricane box now: a spare leash and slip lead, a towel, gloves, a collapsible crate, a can of food, and a printed list of the phone numbers above (cell networks may be down — paper wins). Five minutes of prep today turns a heartbreaking discovery into a rescue story.

And if you find a lost pet wearing a tag from our clinic family, call us. We keep records on file and can often reach an owner faster than anyone else. Around here, we look out for every paw — the ones with homes, and the ones still looking for one.